Keith Olbermann to return with 11 p.m. ESPN2 sports talk show

Keith Olbermann, seen here on ESPN's "SportsCenter" in 1996, is returning to his old employer with a new ESPN2 talk show.

Keith Olbermann, seen here on ESPN's "SportsCenter" in 1996, is returning to his old employer with a new ESPN2 talk show. (ESPN)

By Scott Collins

Maybe you can go home again. Keith Olbermann is headed back to ESPN.

The famously scrappy host is returning to the sports broadcasting empire more than 15 years after leaving the fold in a cloud of controversy and bad feelings -- and more than a year after being fired from his last regular TV gig at Al Gore's Current network (since sold to Al Jazeera).

"The program will focus on the day's relevant sports topics through a mix of perspective and commentary, interviews, contributors, panel discussions and highlights," the network wrote in a statement Wednesday.

Olbermann achieved national fame as the host of a nightly political talk show that helped revive MSNBC as a bastion of liberal opinion. But he got his start in broadcasting through sports. He joined ESPN in 1992 and cohosted "SportsCenter" until 1997.

But his battles with bosses were legendary. At one point, Olbermann appeared on a talk show and referred to ESPN's Connecticut headquarters as a "godforsaken place." After he left the company, he said management barred him from returning to their offices.

Apparently all is forgiven now, and Olbermann sounds eager to make amends.

"I've been gone for 16 years and not one day in that time has passed without someone connecting me to the network," he wrote in a statement. "Our histories are indelibly intertwined and frankly I have long wished that I had the chance to make sure the totality of that story would be a completely positive one."

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